On February 11, Beijing time, today is the NBA trading deadline, and the Rockets, who are accustomed to pressing the whistle to complete the transaction, are not idle this time. They traded 29-year-old backup center Daniel Theis for Boston point guard Schroeder, center Fernando and another player, after the Rockets decided to cut two of the Rockets' outside shooters, a 34-year-old DJ Augustine, and a scorer who signed a four-year, $7.2 million extension contract with the Rockets last summer.
Then after the Rockets completed the deal, they decided to cut a European center from Boston, and after the Rockets cut 3 players 1 for 3, it was equivalent to the departure of 3 veterans of Theis, Augustine and Brooks, and Schroeder and Fernando 2 new faces joined.
The Houston Rockets currently have a full roster of 16 players, and there is an empty slot that allows the lineup to maintain a certain degree of flexibility. Why? We know that the Rockets have two other players on two-way contracts in the development league this season, one is Quinn and the other is Daisyn Knicks.
The Rockets retain a player slot, one is to turn the contract of two-way players into a standard contract of the NBA, and the other is to make a difference in the buyout market, because a large number of transactions have been completed, and it is expected that many players will be laid off by other teams, and if there are players that the Rockets need, they can claim.
But if you want to claim these free agents, the Rockets must have the corresponding player vacancies, retain a vacancy, you can either turn the two-way contract player, you can also buy out the market treasure hunting, can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
Then after the completion of the transaction, the Rockets, the lineup change is actually not particularly large. Gordon, Wood, Nuwaba and other players who are deeply involved in trade rumors still remain in the team, and Schroeder's arrival can not only provide the Rockets with a strong immediate combat force, but also help the Rockets guide and cultivate two young guards, Porter Jr. and Jaylen Green.
What's more, Schroeder, who has an annual salary of less than $6 million, is about to expire this summer, and the Rockets can either not renew his contract to free up more salary space, or keep him with a low-priced contract and let him continue to help the Rockets.
Overall, it was well worth it for the Rockets to trade Thees, who had fallen out of the rotation, for star point guard Schroeder and young interior blue-collar center Fernando. Finally, let's sort out the Rockets' brand new 16-man roster after the deal.
Point Guards: Porter Jr., Schroeder, Knicks (two-way contract), Wall (no more appearances)
Scoring guards: Jaylen Green, Christopher, Gordon, Matthews
Small forwards: Tate, Nuwaba, Quinn (two-way contract)
Big forwards: Martin Jr., Garruba
Center: Wood, Shinkin, Fernando